Decks made of parallel planking are often constructed at residential houses and other buildings to provide an outdoor living or gathering area. Sometimes these decks are elevated on pilings or supports so that the deck can be accessed from an above-ground level. In such cases of an elevated deck, a space is necessarily provided below the deck. This space may or may not be usable for other purposes, but often receives water that drains through spaces in the deck planking during rain events or cleaning.
A conventional deck construction provides openings between adjacent deck boards or planks forming the deck surface so that water will fall through the openings and not accumulate on the deck surface. However, the area under the deck, which may be used as a second patio or storage area, is exposed to the elements of nature, particularly rain that passes through the openings in the deck. This severely limits the use of the space under the deck. It may be desirable to otherwise collect or divert this water to thereby make the underdeck area dry and usable for other purposes such as storage or recreation.
Various types of water drainage systems for decks are known in the art. Many of these known systems have proven at least partially effective for creating dry and usable spaces below decks. But many of the known systems have certain drawbacks and leave room for improvement. For example, the known DRY•B•LO system (http://www.dri-b-lo.com), which is believed shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,511,351 and 5,765,328, provides a plurality of flexible panels made of a web material mounted side-by-side in succession in overlapping relationship, straddling adjacent deckjoists. Installation of this system requires extensive manual labor, with many multiple fasteners, and is thus expensive and time-consuming to install. Although the structure is advertised as readily disgorging debris because of its flexible nature, its permanent mounting nature makes it difficult to readily remove, clean, and replace with the same panels.
The known system provided by the Underdeck Company, Plymouth, Minn. requires four separate components—a joist rail, collector panels, joist gutters, and boundary gutters. It is believed that this company's products are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,308,479, 6,226,956 and 6,212,887. One issue with this system is the diversion of water towards the joist gutters. Heavy accumulation of water from rainfall is directed toward the joists, which have joist gutters to carry away the water. If the water flow is heavy, it can seep over the edges of the joist gutter mounting structure and contact with the wood of the joist. Over time, this may result in damage to the bottom edges of the joists. Furthermore, this design results in visible joist gutters and does not permit a flat, flush appearance of ceiling and water drainage system. Further still, special collector panels are required for this system if a deck has inconsistent joist spacing, the joist rails are difficult to install at the edges, the panels easily dent and crease, and deck railing post fasteners and support braces can interfere with installation.
The known DRYSPACE system, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,785, involves use of joist covers and separate F-brackets that must be mounted to the bottom of a deck joist, with the F-brackets supporting V-shaped panels. The material of the F-brackets is relatively thin and weak, and may not support a significant water load on the panels. Furthermore, it is possible that during heavy rainfall, water can seep inwardly of the panels into the F-brackets and over the top edge of the F-brackets into the joist covers where it can contact the wood of the joists. This can result in damage to the joists over time.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,941 describes an undercover system mounted below and separate from the deck frame that serves to keep water and debris passing through the deck structure off of the prescribed area. While different mounting arrangements are contemplated, the undercover system in this patent is typically mounted between the wall of a building and posts holding the deck frame. Because the undercover system is separate from the deck frame, the drainage surface must be fairly rigid and self-supporting to carry the water as well as the weight of the panels that drain the water. Furthermore, this system requires a 4 inch to 7 inch space between the bottom of the deck and the panels, which can diminish the amount of overhead room in certain applications.
Some deck drainage systems require installation before the decking planks are installed. The Rainescape system (http://www.rainescape.com) is one such system. Such systems are clearly inconvenient for preconstructed decks, as the decking must be removed in order to install the drainage system.
The system shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,415,571 and 6,385,931 provides a plurality of trapezoid-shaped panels that are fastened to joist ends. Significant sealing and caulking may be required along the extensive seams in this approach to prevent leakage, which is time-consuming and difficult to create a smooth appearance.
Other approaches to underdeck water drainage are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,065,883; 5,195,281; 6,308,479; 6,164,019; and D466,596.
With many of these known underdeck drainage systems, over a period of time, the drainage panel may be degraded and/or damaged, and there may be leaves and/or other debris accumulated on the drainage panel surface so that the panel surfaces become clogged. However, it is difficult or a least inconvenient to remove, clean, and/or replace components in many of these known drainage systems.
There is thus a need for an underdeck drainage system that is easy to install, easy to remove, and therefore easy to maintain and/or clean. There is a need for a system that can be used for new deck construction as well as aftermarket installation on preconstructed decks. There is a need for a system that can readily accommodate inconsistent joist spacing and the presence of railing post fasteners and support braces, and does not require separate special panels. There is also a need for a system that minimizes water contact with joists and other wood components of a deck to prolong the life of the joists and other components. The present invention addresses many of these unfulfilled needs.